After the War
by virgovixen4
Summary: This is Harry Potter fanfic about the time of their lives I've always wanted to read about: The Trio/Ginny's young adult life. Marriage, children, careers, and more mysteries. This is how I want their lives to be, so some things may differ slightly from how JKR left it. I have a solid idea of where this story is headed, so if you like it, comment/review & stick around for more!
1. Chapter 1

Harry woke up panting, his skin drenched in a cold sweat. "Damn," he thought. "The nightmares are back again." He looked to his side to see Ginny still sleeping peacefully beside him. His thoughts drifted back to nearly two months ago, when she had told him she was expecting their first child. Since then, nightmares had been plaguing him nearly every night. It made no sense; Harry hadn't had nightmares in over a year. They had won the war and the Dark Lord was gone. The Death Eaters had turned themselves in in droves, claiming, of course, to have been under the Imperious Curse, hoping for mercy from the Aurors. His scar no longer pained him, and Harry finally felt like he was living the "normal" life he had been denied for so long.

His new life with Ginny was like a dream. They had married in June the year after the Battle of Hogwarts, once Ginny finished her last year of school, and they had moved into a small, quiet neighborhood not far from the Burrow. Harry loved their house. It resembled the house that, as a boy growing up with the Dursleys, he had always imagined his parents' house would have been like. It was in a Muggle town, so their home was lacking the eccentric, gnome-filled garden Harry had grown to love at the Burrow, but it had a nice yard, with a swing tied to a tree, and Harry looked forward to raising his and Ginny's children there.

That thought made Harry's blood run cold again, and he shifted uncomfortably in bed. He'd shared in Ginny's joy while he was with her, but while he was alone, he panicked at the thought of being a father. He had only had a loving father for a year that he couldn't even remember, and then he'd been left to the harsh hand of Uncle Vernon. But Harry knew with every part of himself that Ginny was going to be a great mother. She was so full of love and life, how could she not be? Harry smiled, and rolled over to embrace her in her sleep. He laid his hand over her abdomen, and his eyes shot open! He could swear he felt the movement of his baby inside Ginny's stomach. But no, it couldn't be; Mrs. Weasley had told them it would be a few more months before that would be possible. Still, the thought comforted Harry, and he felt his eyes closing again, and he drifted back to sleep.

He came awake hours later to soft lips kissing his cheek and a warm whisper in his ear.

"Wake up," Came Ginny's laughing voice. "You have a letter from someone." Harry grinned sleepily, his earlier nightmare all but forgotten. He reached to pull Ginny across him, but she had already danced back down the stairs to their kitchen. Harry stretched and climbed out of bed, wondering vaguely who his letter was from. It was Saturday, and he and Ginny were going to dinner at the Burrow later, where Ginny planned to tell the rest of her family about the baby. Harry grinned as he pulled a sweater over his head, laughing at the thought of how Ron would take the news. He figured he better keep his wand handy just in case Ron decided to play the role of overprotective big brother again. "_Pertrificus Totalus_" he muttered under his breath, and stepped out into the hall.

Harry descended the stairs to the kitchen, where the first thing he saw was their Greater Sooty Owl, Warwick, sleeping on his perch by the window. His new owl was much more independent than Hedwig had been, and would often go out hunting and not return for nights in a row. This stubborn behavior irritated Harry and made him miss the snowy owl who had been his first companion in the wizarding world. He strode to the table and took a seat next to Ginny, who was reading the Daily Prophet. Out of nowhere it seemed, Ginny produced a plate of scrambled eggs and toast and pushed it toward him, grinning.

"Good morning. Merlin's beard, Harry, do you think I'm going to disappear overnight? I woke up sweating this morning with you clinging to me, and I could barely wake you to escape! Honestly, it's Halloween already, and it still felt like July with how hot I was." She rose from the table and placed a kiss on top of his head. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat; he still hadn't told Ginny about the nightmares he had been having. It would only concern her, and he didn't want to upset her over something as silly as a bad dream.

"I just like to keep the two of you close to me," said Harry. Ginny beamed at him, and he knew she was distracted enough to no longer question his new-found need for closeness.

"Who was my letter from?" He asked her.

"Oh! You'll be surprised by this, Harry. The letter came from the postman. An actual, Muggle postman! I saw him walk up the path and slip the letter through the slot himself, no magic at all." Her childlike wonder at the world of Muggles amused Harry, but now he was very curious. Who would be sending him a letter by Muggle post?


	2. Chapter 2

Just a disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters or anything related to the Harry Potter stories I write about!

Harry listened to Ginny bustling about the kitchen as he grabbed the letter off the pile of mail on the table. Sure enough, it was a Muggle post envelope addressed to him. What took Harry absolutely by surprise, however, was that the postmark read Salem, Massachusettes, USA. There was no return address on the envelope, and the handwriting was unfamiliar to him. Harry knew that Salem was a central hub for witches and wizards in the United States, but he didn't know anyone who'd ever been there, let alone who would be sending him a letter by Muggle post.

"Well? Who's it from?" Asked Ginny. She was standing behind his chair now, peering over his shoulder.

"I don't know yet. There's no return address, and look," he pointed to the top right corner, next to the little pumpkin stamp where the postmark was. "It's from the United States, Salem."

Ginny's eyebrows furrowed together. "That's odd."

"Well, let's see," said Harry, and he flipped the letter over and slid it open. Inside was a single piece of paper.

_Harry,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. It__'__s Dudley. When your Order hid my parents and me, they took us to a place in the United States, Salem, Massachusetts. There is a lot of your kind of people here; that's actually how I found out how I could send this letter to you. I heard that your war is over, that you won over that Lord Voldy-person. I was quite happy to hear you hadn't been killed. I told you the last time we saw each other that I don't think you're a waste of space, and I wanted to tell you that, well...you were always like a brother to me__,__ Harry, and I know that I never treated you too well. Truth is, I can't picture having grown up without you, and of course we both know you've saved my life. Well, I've been thinking about you since I heard your war is all over, and I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for how I was when we were growing up. I think I've changed a lot since I got to Salem. I'm writing to you because I want to invite you and your friends to come spend the American holiday Thanksgiving with me here in the States. I think we'll have a lot more in common now, and I hope I can show you that I really have changed. I was told that your owl will know where to find me, or you can use the regular post and send the letter to the return address on this envelope. Hope to hear from you soon._

_Dudley_

Harry stared at the letter, slightly dazed. His first thought was that this had to be a bad joke. Dudley was the biggest prat, and Harry had seriously doubted whether he even knew how to write. But as he looked at the signature, he realized that the scrawl was indeed Dudley's.

"It...It's from my cousin. Dudley," Harry said to Ginny, handing her the letter. He saw her brown eye flash in anger. Harry had told Ginny about how he had been treated growing up with the Dursleys, and he had been surprised at how indignant Ginny had become on his behalf. He had even had to stop her from trying to send them a Howler, she had been so angry. Even now, her temper would flare up if there was ever any mention of his aunt, uncle, or cousin.

"What does that prat want?" She snarled, and she narrowed her eyes and started reading. She scoffed, and looked up to Harry. "'I was quite happy you hadn't been killed.' Wow, he certainly has a way with words. Has the troll finally learned how to care about someone other than his fat self? Does he not even realize you got married? How could he not know that his cousin, that HARRY POTTER, the savior of the wizarding world, got married! There were enough articles in every stupid magazine, " Ginny snorted, and tossed the letter back to Harry. "Well, what do you think? Do you want to go, Harry?"

Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm so confused. I know Dudley. Maybe he has had a change of heart, but with the old Dudley, there would have had to be something in it for him. Do you want to go?" He asked her.

"I've been interested in foreign witches and wizards ever since we visited Bill in Egypt. And I'm sure Hermione would jump at the educational possibilities, so we should ask her and Rom to come when we see them tonight. Sounds like we have ourselves an adventure," She grinned, "Even if it is just a visit to Dudley."

"I guess we're going then. I should write back to him. Wait a minute..." Harry remembered there had been no sender address on the envelope, but Dudley had told him to reach him there. "What an idiot," Harry muttered under his breath. He picked the envelope up again. This time however, to his shock, there was an address printed in the top left corner, where there had most certainly been nothing written before. This was turning out to be a very odd morning. Harry hesitated as he reached for a quill and parchment.

"I want to talk to Ron and Hermione before I write back to him. This is too strange to make sense of right now; I don't want to agree to something I can't do without knowing what Dudley wants. He's bound to cause trouble somehow," Harry said to Ginny. "Let's head to the Burrow when you're ready."


End file.
